


In Another Life

by Rainewritesfanfics



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, F/F, Girlfriends - Freeform, Reveal, chat! Mari, ladybug! Lila, lilanetteweek, they are cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 02:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7783294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainewritesfanfics/pseuds/Rainewritesfanfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been two years since crime-fighting duo Coccinella and Noire began fighting evil in Paris, and while Coccinella is ready to show her companion who she is, Noire has reservations.</p><p>Lilanetteweek prompt: swapped miraculous</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Another Life

"A job well done, mia gattina," Coccinella chuckled as she kissed her partner's leather-clad hand. Two beeps echoed between them in warning.

Noire rolled her eyes. "Knock it of, Cici, you know I have a crush on someone."

"A lucky girl indeed," the spotted heroine teased, winking one of those deep green eyes at the smaller girl.

Noire froze, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "How did you know it was a girl this time?"

"I suppose you could call it a ~lucky~ guess." The heroine internally gave herself a high-five.

"You're terrible," Noire whined, stomping her foot in that cute little way she did, her pigtails bouncing.

Their miraculous beeped for the second time, signaling the end of their banter.

"We'd better get going," Noire noted, her cat ears twitching as the distant clock chimed midnight.

Coccinella sighed as she placed her yoyo back on her waist. "You still want to keep our identities secret? It's been two years... Tikki said that Ladybugs are supposed to be the hesitant ones."

Noire looked away, her bright blue eyes turned toward the pavement on the roof below their feet, and Lila felt like she was being rejected again. 

Another beep sounded from their jewelry.

"Cici..." Even the nickname sounded so conflicted. "I-I don't think you'd like me without the mask. I'm a total klutz and I'm easily distracted and I trip over nothing and I've been bullied my whole life." Lila wondered whose ass she needed to kick. "And you- you're so beautiful, collected, and graceful. I would just drive you away, and then we wouldn't have anything."

Coccinella gently cupped her partner's face. "Gattina, how could you ever think something like that?" She tilted the smaller girl's head so she could stare into those blue, blue eyes. "The first day we fought together, I thought, 'this girl is crazy,' but then when you saved me using that incredible brain of yours, I fell in madly love. I promise you, I'm not perfect behind this mask either."

Lila's eyes mapped the few freckles that peeks out from under Noire's mask, committing them to memory. "My parents are always fighting, dragging me around as we move. These last two years are the longest I've lived anywhere, so I wake up every morning, and I'm scared that they are going to tell me to pack my bags and get on a plane. I would have to leave behind my friends, my life, my responsibilities, and most importantly, I would have to leave you."

Noire looked down, her eyes watery. Their miraculous beeped again.

"I'll close my eyes if you're not ready," Lila promised, hugging her partner close. "But if you are willing, I want you to know who I am."

When she got no response, she spotted heroine continued. "I never flirted with you for fun or to get a rise out of you," Noire gave her a look. "Okay, maybe a little. But I swear, I love you, so, so much. I promise, no matter who is behind the mask, I love her."

"Even if I was Chloé?" Noire asked, her eyes still watery, but a small smile pulling at her lips.

Coccinella laughed. "We both know that you're not Chloé. We've saved her ungrateful ass more than enough times to know that neither of us are her."

Noire giggled, but quickly stopped, finally looking up at her partner worry in her crystalline eyes and her scrunched, freckled nose. "Cici, I'm scared."

Coccinella tilted Noire's head back, leaning closer until their lips were only a breath apart. "You have nothing to fear, my love."

Noire nodded slowly, her eyelids drifting closed as she moved to close the space between them. 

When their lips met, pink and green light danced around them until their transformations were nothing but neon glimmers in the moonlit air.

The girls slowly parted, each movement apart felt like waking from a heavy slumber. Their eyes lazily drifted open, growing wide, then wider, and then they screamed.

"OH MY GOD! LILA!!?!?!"

"MARI!?"

"But-but you... I saw you and Coccinella at the same time with Timebreaker!" Marinette was pointing rather frantically at her partner, her mouth gaping.

"But then there were two of me, right?"

"Oh... You're right."

Lila walked curiously around the other girl. "Mari, you're so sweet, I can't believe you're such a rough and tumble girl like Noire!"

"Those aren't mutually exclusive." The designer blushed, fumbling with her hands. "What about you!? You're so bold and confident at school, but Coccinella is so shy around press."

The Italian laughed. "I would act the same way around the press as Lila. Cameras make me a bit nervous when I'm not ready for them."

Silence stretched between them long enough that they could hear the cats in the alley below.

"I can't believe I fell for you twice," Marinette blurted out, instantly throwing her hands over her mouth, her face as red as Lila's suit.

"What was that?" Lila probed.

"NOTHING! Let me just go and bury myself before I say anything else dumb!" Marinette wailed, throwing her head back melodramatically.

"Oh, no way are you getting out of this one. Explain, Gattina." No response. Time to use the ultimate weapon. "Pretty please....?" 

Marinette glanced over just enough to see the puppy eyes being thrown her way. 

"So unfair," she breathed. Lila continued her cute assault. "Fine, fine. So... Ikindahadacrushonyouaslilabutididntknowwhattodoaboutitsinceialsohadacrushoncicibutnowyouareboth."

Lila gave an unimpressed look, her arms crossed on her chest. "I couldn't catch most of that and you know it. How about you try again, slower?"

Marinette groaned. "I had a crush on Lila and Coccinella, okay? I fell in love with you twice. Lila was outspoken and spunky, and I started crushing on Lila-you after we were paired for that project and you came over and I wanted to kiss you. And Cici was sweet and constant and reassuring, even if she made horrible puns and flirted non-stop. I fell for that side of you when you helped me save Alya."

Lila grasped Marinette's shoulders. Her lips were pulled back into a pleased, but mischievous smile that Marinette couldn't imagine on anyone else. "Well knowing that you love me too is a relief, although I happen to think that my puns are hilarious."

She paused for a moment, her nose crinkling. "Can you imagine if you hated me like you hate Chloé? That would be so awkward." Lila shuddered, in mock-disgust before wrapping herself around the smaller girl. "Good thing I fell for you twice too."

She didn't even have to look to know Marinette was blushing. She could feel the heat radiating off her face. "Wh-What?!"

Lila gave a nonchalant hum, taking great pleasure in teasing her beloved. "Yeah. I fell for Noire first because that pretty brain of yours has saved me more times than I can count, plus you look amazing in black leather." Marinette swatted playfully at the brunette. "But when you sacrificed yourself for me that first time and just vanished, I felt like part of me died. That's when I knew that I more than liked you." 

Marinette looked puzzled. Lila's gaze was distant as she continued, "You wouldn't remember it because it was an alternate timeline." Lila crushed Marinette defensively to her chest as she explained. "In it, Timebreaker got you while you were protecting me, and you dissolved in my arms." Lila choked back a sob, causing Marinette to stroke her hair softly. "You were just gone, and I never got to say goodbye. If I hadn't followed her back in time..."

"Shhh," Marinette murmured, planting kisses on her forehead. "It's okay, Lila. You saved me. I am here. I am real."

"I know. Thank you." Lila hugged her tight, taking a minute to collect herself. 

"How about Marinette," the girl prompted, hoping to distract Lila from her pain.

Lila gave a watery smile. "I loved Noire deeply, but then there was sweet, clumsy Marinette."

Her partner looked at her curiously.

"Do you remember how we met?" Lila murmured.

Marinette nodded, some of the humor twinkling in her eyes. "Yeah, Chloé pushed me down the steps and I fell on top of you."

"I like to think you fell 'for' me," Lila interjected.

Mari rolled her eyes. "Sure."

"Well, I was about to snap at you because I was having a rough morning, but you apologized so quickly, so sincerely, and when I looked into your eyes, I couldn't form the words nor stay angry." Lila snuggled closer and kissed Marinette's nose. "You were too cute, and you accepted me so quickly into your friend group even though I was an outsider."

Marinette gave Lila a wide smile. "I was an outsider too, until I met you, and Adrien, and Alya. Without you guys, I would still be alone myself. No one should be alone."

Lila couldn't help herself as she leaned down and kissed Marinette again and again and again. "I love you," was repeated between the two of them over and over, like a promise, a vow.

"Oh my god! You've been talking and kissing for like thirty minutes! Feed me, Marinette!" a voice whined. 

The girls jumped apart, blushing insanely as they remembered their kwami were watching. 

"Plagg!" Tikki scolded. "They finally got together! It was at the good part!"

"Whatever," the black cat drawled. "I won the bet this time. I told you that they'd do the reveal together."

"Fine," the spotted kwami huffed, "but I'll win next time for sure."

"He-hey!" Lila complained, snatching Tikki out of the air. "You guys were betting on us!?"

Both gods shrugged. "Yeah."

Marinette looked petrified with her flaming cheeks, not even moving when Plagg started digging through her bag for cheese-bread.

"Oh my god," Marinette said, looking as though something had just dawned on her.

Lila looked on in concern. "What?"

"We love each other."

"Um, yeah, I thought we both made that pretty clear, Bella."

"Are we dating now?"

"Do you- do you, um, want to date?"

Marinette nodded, looking somewhat mystified.

Lila cleared her throat, getting down on one knee as she took Marinette's hands in her own. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, also known as Noire, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Oh my god, Lila, what are you doing?!" Marinette shrieked, her cheeks red enough to make Tikki jealous. 

"Asking y-you out," Lila stuttered. "This is how people do it, right?"

Marinette stared at her for a minute, trying to gauge if the brunette was joking. When she realized that Lila was not joking, she let out a tiny snicker, followed by a giggle, and soon she was holding her stomach, laughing so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks. 

"What?" Lila worried as she watched Marinette laugh. "What did I do?!"

After recomposing herself, Marinette giggled. "People usually propose marriage like that, not dating. But yes, I would love to be your girlfriend."

Lila blushed, but then her face broke into a blinding grin as she scooped Marinette up in a hug and swung her around. "I have a girlfriend!" She set Marinette down for a moment, cupping her hands and shouting over the rooftop, "I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!"

The heroine ran back to hug her partner again, kissing the crown of Marinette's head as the smaller girl hugged her back. 

They stayed there like that for a while, letting the feeling of wonder and being loved back sink in. After some time Lila murmured, "You know what I just realized?"

"What?" Marinette hummed, nuzzling her neck.

"I have to kick Chloé's ass."

"Lila, no."

"Lila, yes."

**Author's Note:**

> Posted to tumblr for Lilanetteweek last month. Have some cute girls.


End file.
